WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

To the dismay of high school students

everywhere. Reading Shakespeare is a

requirement in nearly all high schools across

the USA

Why?

SHAKESPEARE BACKGROUND

Between 1590 and 1613, he is attributed with writing 38

plays, Famous Shakespearean sonnets and other works.

He is the most widely read of all Authors

The popularity of the Life and Works of Shakespeare, in

English speaking countries, is second only to the Bible.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Date of Birth? • The birthday of William Shakespeare has been set as

April 23rd 1564

Born: Stratford-upon-Avon, England

His Parents were John and Mary Shakespeare

Two older sibling died due to the Bubonic

Plague

Married to Anne Hathaway

B R O T H E R S A N D S I S T E R S O F W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E

Joan was the first child of John and Mary was baptized 1558 September 15 (she only survived two months)Margaret was baptized 1562 December 2 - she died one year laterWilliam was baptized 1564 April 26 (died 1616 aged 52 )Gilbert was baptized 1566 October 13 (died 1612 aged 46)Another daughter, also called Joan, was born in 1569 (died 1646 aged 77)Anne was baptized 1571 September 28 (1579 died aged 8)Richard was baptized 1574 March 11 (died 1613 aged 39)Edmund was baptized 1580 May 3 (died 1607 aged 27)

EDUCATION

Most biographers agree that Shakespeare was probably educated

at the King's New School in Stratford.

Grammar schools varied in quality during the Elizabethan era, but

the grammar curriculum was standardized by royal decree

throughout England, and the school would have provided an

intensive education in Latin grammar based upon Latin classical

authors.

Left school at age 14

TYPES OF PLAYS

Comedies

Tragedies

Histories

TRAGEDIES

Wrote from the start of his career. One of his earliest tragic plays

was Titus Andronicus, which he followed a few years later with

Romeo and Juliet.

**** FOUR BEST tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and

Macbeth.

Similar to Aristotle's precept about tragedy:• protagonist must be an admirable but flawed character, with the

audience able to sympathize with the character. Certainly, capable of both good and evil.

COMEDIES

Upbeat ending, usually involving marriages between the

unmarried characters, and a tone and style that is more light-

hearted than his other plays. Patterns in the comedies include

movement to a "green world," both internal and external

conflicts.

HISTORIES

Based on the lives of English kings. Therefore they can be

more accurately called the "English history plays," a less

common designation.

Plays like Julius Caesar and Macbeth are actually

considered Tragedies.

QUEEN ELIZABETH I

During the 1590s, some of the great names of English literature

entered their maturity, including William Shakespeare. During

this period the English theatre reached its highest peaks.

The notion of a great Elizabethan age depends largely on the

builders, dramatists, poets, and musicians who were active during

Elizabeth's reign. They owed little directly to the queen, who was

never a major patron of the arts.

GLOBE THEATER

Shakespeare was one of several owners and he

lived off of the ticket sales for the remaining

years of his life.

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